Chicken Burgers (or meatballs) with Spinach and Cheese

For some reason, I've been a little leery about making burgers in India. Maybe because I've never had a chicken/turkey burger before, so I just wondered if they were a little bit weird.

So these were my first attempt at India burgers...and I must say, we all loved them! Even Landon, my pick eater, loved the "handaburg" as he calls them. Layla calls them "hangabers." I have the cutest kids.

Anyway, here they are!

I sprinkled a little bit extra of the grated "processed cheddar cheese" that I had also mixed into the patties, but you could also top it with a slice of cheese. In fact, you could pay the big bucks to get real, actual cheddar cheese, and these would probably be even more delicious. I think they would taste PERFECT with a smear of mayonnaise, but alas, I didn't have any when we ate these. Maybe next time - because there WILL be a next time.

Take note that you need to mix this together 2 hours before you actually want to make dinner - it allows all the yummy flavors to infuse into the meat more.

Tip: I toasted the buns with a  little bit of butter in the pan after cooking the burgers, and that was definitely the perfecting touch on these burgers. Totally worth the extra effort.

Chicken Burgers with Spinach and Cheese

Original Recipe

1 lb/450 grams of ground chicken (chicken keema)

1 onion cut into big chunks

1 cup of wilted spinach (just sauté it in a pan for a couple minutes)

3+ cloves of garlic

2 TBS of balsamic vinegar

2 tsp of soy sauce

1 tsp of lemon juice

1/2 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup shredded cheese

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs (or regular bread crumbs, or crushed Monaco crackers)

Put your chicken keema in a large bowl. In a blender or food processor, add the spinach, onion, and garlic and pulse until well chopped, but not pureed. Add to bowl with chicken. Add the remaining ingredients into the bowl with the chicken and mix everything together well. 

Cover and refrigerate for 2+ hours.

When you're ready to eat, heat a pan over medium heat. Make 6 patties out of the chicken, and add to the pan (I used 2 pans with 3 patties in each). Cook for 6-7 minutes per side...I'll confess that I perhaps overcooked these a little, but I don't have a meat thermometer and was super paranoid about undercooking them since it's chicken and not beef. 

Top with additional cheese after cooking. Serve on toasted buns with mayo, lettuce, and tomato if you have it! Even additional sliced onion would be great.

As an option, you can also roll these into meatballs instead of burgers! Mix the meat the exact same way, but then roll into balls and either pan fry or bake in the oven. Eat them plain or with some salad.